Who does small part plating?

[AAR#2]

I've thought about doing my own as well and maybe doing it for others. I think with your location I would really consider doing my own. Shipping parts is always a worry. I'm not sure about the cost of doing your own, probably might even cost more but no anxiety of parts going missing.

Very true, even more so that a majority of these parts are near impossible to locate again.  A worry for me, is dealing with the hazardous waste that is generated.  Even 5 gallons, can be quite costly to properly dispose of, and the cradle to grave laws really are quite a concern for me.

Im keeping my options open, but i need to find something in the mean time.

Caswell chemicals are of the friendlier variety, particularly the chromates. Caswell chromates are Trivalent where the ones you hear about making the news are generally Hexavalent.

[Burdar]

Look up electroplating in your local yellowpages. I sent all my fasteners out to a local company to be barrel plated. They have a minimum charge of $35. I got all the fasteners done for that amount.(I had them cleaned to bare metal before sending them out)

For the phosphates fasteners, I bought Caswells black oxide kit. It works great. You just have to seal the fasteners once they are darkened. The black oxide is just a darkener...it doesn't protect against rust.

[GY3R/T]

   AAR#2,   I know rectifier choice is important.    What rectifier do you use /recommend ? How big is your chem tub ?   

[Jalaska907]

Look up electroplating in your local yellowpages. I sent all my fasteners out to a local company to be barrel plated. They have a minimum charge of $35. I got all the fasteners done for that amount.(I had them cleaned to bare metal before sending them out)

For the phosphates fasteners, I bought Caswells black oxide kit. It works great. You just have to seal the fasteners once they are darkened. The black oxide is just a darkener...it doesn't protect against rust.

Nobody in Alaska does electroplating, there is powder coating but were pretty limited on services

[AAR#2]

   AAR#2,   I know rectifier choice is important.    What rectifier do you use /recommend ? How big is your chem tub ?

OK, so when I started this years ago I jumped in with the 1.5 gallon kit, wasn't sure if I could get it to work to an acceptable level or work at all. Long story short I had a learning curve but the results can be fantastic. The 1.5 gallon kit is perfect for hardware and small parts, most things on your restoration will fit into the bath, and like me, if you're trying it for the first time you sure don't want to sink any more money than needed to get started.

So lets talk basics first, the Copy CAD kit provides many basics but not everything needed. Don't be shocked when you start adding to the list, should you decide to jump in I'd be happy to spend time discussing all the small items needed.

The rectifier alone almost had me pass on trying this as these are EXPENSIVE, and the amperage range is pretty small for the money. The solution I opted for was to build a rectifier using DC current from a battery charger, by running it through a series of landscape lights and toggle switches you can easily adjust the current accurately, and to verify what you get I suggest running it through a multimeter to start.

By using different bayonet wattage bulbs you can build current to a desired level. The Caswell electroplating kit will require .14 amp per sq/in to plate a part. Remember that lawn lights are sold by watts, and watts divided by volts = amps. So a 18W lawn bulb will produce no more than 1.5amps, and a 12 watt bulb will produce no more than 1 amp. The amps generated fluctuate slightly based on the power supply setting, in my case based on the setting of the battery charger (2amp, 10 amp or engine start). I elected to build mine using 12 sockets, normally loaded with (4) 4 watt bulbs (for fine adjustment), (4) 12 watt bulbs, and (4) 18 watt bulbs. For larger jobs I have loaded all sockets with 18 watt bulbs to increase amperage, doing this will produce approx 18 amps or enough for about 128 sq/in of plating surface, a lot for a 1.5 gallon bath. Some of you may pick up that if a 4 watt bulb produces .33 amps why does your sticker say .26? This is because I had the battery charger set on 2 amps, had it been set higher, more amps but would not exceed the .33, so another way to adjust if needed. I'm here to tell you that I pained over being accurate with my sq/in measurements easy on and learned later that being close is good enough, you too will learn if you get started.

I ordered bayonet sockets and toggle clamps on-line to saved money, the rest you can see is basic sheetmetal, wood and wires. At the risk of already babbling, I'll stop and see if anyone is still interested.

[AAR#2]

So to give you an idea of the type of results, heres a couple pieces in various chromate colors.

[GY3R/T]

          Fantastic info !!   So you are saying , build your own rectifier. I undestand you need to estimate the area to be plated. Tail light housings, Holley carb bodies and larger parts would need a 5 or 10 gal bath with pumps to get a coverage ? Will a home-made rectifier be able to handle this ?

[Jalaska907]

Awesome info!! Those results look great!! 

[AAR#2]

So you are saying , build your own rectifier. I undestand you need to estimate the area to be plated. Tail light housings, Holley carb bodies and larger parts would need a 5 or 10 gal bath with pumps to get a coverage ? Will a home-made rectifier be able to handle this ?

Tail lights and carb bodies are not electro deposit zinc, they are dichromate dipped and tough to get right without knowing a good formula (and where to get it), temp of bath, surface prep of part, dip time and the reason I'd suggest using Scott Smith or Stephan Fournier. Yes, the larger the part, the bigger the bath. Bigger the part the more amperage thats needed, but no reason a home rectifier can't accommodate what you'd like. The issue may be reading amperage above 10 amps. Most multimeters only read up to 10 amps and are protected with a fuse that will blow when the amperage rating is exceeded. Since I very rarely go over the 10 amps, you can read what each 18 watt bulb is generating up to the 10 amp range, bypass the multimeter, and extrapolate the remaining amperage. I suspect there are other ways of reading high amperage but I have not had a need or investigated the options on this.

All bath sizes I recommend using a submersible pump to keep the bath moving.